Digital Britain report is ambitious if imperfect

The interim Digital Britain report, presented to Parliament today, is
wide-ranging in both its aims and ambitions. Lord Carter’s recommendation of
universal broadband access for all by 2012 is to be applauded, although, as
ever, the devil is in the detail.

By Claudine Beaumont

6:19PM GMT 29 Jan 2009

Guaranteed countrywide speeds of up to two megabits per second would be only just about adequate for today’s online services; it is highly likely that by 2012, that speed will appear as glacial and inadequate as dial-up is to web users today. Although Lord Carter stressed that this speed was an “aspirational floor, not a ceiling”, some have criticised the report for lacking ambition.

“Given that a number of ISPs offer speeds of up to 50 megabits per second, this is akin to a snail’s pace,” said Richard Heap, head of telecoms at law firm BDO Stoy Hayward. “The two megabits per second connection will allow operators to ‘patch’ existing networks, and it avoids creating a ‘future proof’ broadband for Britain. If Britain wants to be seen as a leader in the digital age, it will have to come up with something more futuristic than this.”

The problem, of course, with any such plans, is cost. Rolling out a next-generation broadband network is estimated at some £15 billion, and will involve digging up roads and laying miles of cable. The report acknowledges that such a project will require investment from internet service providers and the telecoms industry, particularly mobile phone network operators, and that public incentives may need to be used to drive broadband uptake.

However, the hope is that the market itself, and the increasing range of compelling content and services available online, will be the driving force behind more widespread broadband adoption. To that ends, the report suggests that the BBC, in particular, through its remit as a public service broadcaster, take a lead role in marketing the positive benefits of broadband.

The report also contains some encouraging recommendations about online piracy, illegal filesharing, and copyright. Strikingly, it issues a call to arms to the creative industries to look afresh at their business models and even their attitudes to copyright in the light of the digital revolution. “The core ethos, and success, of the internet to date lies in its ability to stimulate shared ideas and content,” the report reads. “Copyright is vital for our content and communications industries. Our aim, in the rapidly changing digital world is a framework that is effective and enforceable, both nationally and across borders. But it must be one that also allows for innovation in platforms, devices and applications that make use of content and that respond to consumers’ desire to access content in the time and manner they want, allowing them to use it how they want, and at a price they are willing to pay.”

Related Articles

The report says that counter-piracy measures and effective rights enforcement are an “important element” of upholding creative copyright and content ownership, but are insufficient on their own. “New methods of legitimate access, based on new business models and incentive structures will be crucial,” it reads. In return, the report pledges to enter into consultation over a legislative approach to force internet service providers to notify illegal downloaders when they are committing an offence, and collect anonymous data and personal details of the worst offenders to be passed on to rights holders after the issuing of a court order.

Another key area of note addressed by the report is that of the future of digital radio. The report states that DAB digital radio has “become the platform of choice” for radio listening in the UK, and that “dedicated analogue sets are no longer part of the retail mainstream”. It recommends a gradual switchover to digital radio, but does not set a deadline for the turning off of the analogue spectrum. Indeed, Lord Carter said he could see no reason why FM radio and DAB could not continue to coexist for the foreseeable future.

Nonetheless, the message is clear – the government is committed to DAB, and expects the radio industry to follow suit. It will plan for migration to digital platforms when several key criteria are met, namely when half of all radio listening is via digital platforms, when DAB coverage is comparable to FM coverage, and when the DAB signal covers 90 per cent of the population, and all major roads. Tellingly, it gave no idea of a timescale by which it expected this criteria to be achieved.

In truth, however, the emphasis on DAB is potentially misleading. Internet-based radio listening and music streaming is increasing in popularity, and may, in time usurp even traditional broadcast radio. An argument can be made that if the government was serious about future-proofing “digital Britain”, it would have thrown its weight behind internet radio rather than DAB, a format that has achieved only stuttering popularity in the decade since it was first licensed.

Of course, the key problem with the report is that it is simply a list of recommendations, and moreover, recommendations that technology watchers and the wider digital industry have been discussing openly among themselves for several years.

But, as the Conservatives put it, the report in effect asks more questions than it solves, and promises “no new action, but eight further reports”.